Garment hangers

ABSTRACT

A garment hanger in the form of a plaque journaled at the sides in a wall bracket. The plaque has a hook at the top and a face on both sides with features expressing a frown. When the hook is drawn in forward direction to rotate the plaque and depend at the bottom to support a garment, the rear face of the plaque shows in front; and its inverted features express a smile. The plaque is journaled above center to make its lower portion heavier for rotating the plaque back to original position, when the hook is freed of the garment, to again present the frowning expression.

United States Patent [1 1 Malmer 1 Sept. 18, 1973 GARMENT HANGERS [22] Filed: May 25, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 256,790

.Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney-S. .l. Lehrer [57] ABSTRACT A garment hanger in the form of a plaque journaled at the sides in a wall bracket. The plaque has a hook at the top and a face on both sides with features expressing a frown. When the hook is drawn in forward direction to rotate the plaque and depend at the bottom to support a garment, the rear face of the plaque shows in front; and its inverted features express a smile. 'The plaque is journaled above center to make its lower portion heavier for rotating the plaque back to original position, when the hook is freed of the garment, to again present the frowning expression.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures GARMENT HANGERS This invention relates to novelties having an amusement factor and designed to set a good example, and particularly to garment hangers in the form of a figured plaque presenting a frowning image before a garment is hung, and a smiling one after it has been hung. Such hangers of this nature as have come to my attention, embody a mechanism which normally maintains facial features on the plaque with a frown, the weight of a garment suspended from the hanger operating the mechanism to alter the facial features into a smiling expression, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,489.

A hanger of the above type, while designed as a fascinating novelty, is mainly intended for use by children to reward them with a smiling image when they have made it a habit to hang up their clothes; and the plaques of the type herein considered are usually made with a hook for directly hanging the garment or supporting a wire or wooden garment hanger on which a gannent is hung.

As a facility having limited use, a hanger of the above type must be simple in order to sell at a low price. It is therefore one object of the present invention to depart from the use and expense of a mechanism to produce and change the facial expressions mentioned, and provide a plaque which does not incorporate any mechanism, yet accomplishes the desired animated functions.

A further object is to provide a plaque of the above character which has facial features on both sides, such features changing expression by merely inverting the plaque.

Another object is to design the plaque for normally presenting a frowning facial expression both in front and back, and so shape the facial features that rotating the plaque to invert the rear face and present'it in front will display the facial features with a smile.

An additional object is to extend the plaque with a hook at the top and journal the plaque at the sides in a wall bracket, enabling the plaque to be rotated by means of the hook to place the latter at the bottom, where a garment hung on the hook will maintain the plaque in the rotated, smile-expressing position.

A still further object is to journal the plaque above center, so that it may maintain its initial position while not in use, and return by its weight to such position as soon as the garment has been removed.

A better understanding of the invention may be gained by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the hanger as normally positioned before use;

FIG. 2 is a view from the left-hand side of FIG. 1 showing the hanger attached to a wall;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the showing in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of the hanger as it appears during use.

Referring specifically to the drawing, denotes the plaque which forms the main feature of the animated hanger. The plaque may be a wooden disc or a metal or plastic stamping; and it simulates a human face both in front and back. Facial features 11 are printed or stamped on both sides of the plaque; and when the hanger is not in use the features depict a frowning expression. However, as previously mentioned, they depict a smiling expression when the plaque is inverted, as seen in FIG. 4.

The plaque I0 is mounted for attachment to a wall 12 and easy use when approached from the front. The plaque is positioned between the arms 13a of a horizontal wall bracket 13; and an attaching plate 13b is car ried by the bracket for the application of screws 14 above and below to secure the bracket to the wall 12. The sides of the plaque carry trunnions 15 for joumaling it between the flexible arms of the bracket; and the trunnions are located above the center of the plaque to have the lower part of the same serve as a counterweight maintaining the plaque in the normal position of FIG. 1 when the hanger is not in use. The top of the plaque is extended with a hook 16 which is shown opening in forward direction, although it may be turned to open in a different direction.

When the hanger is to be used, it is only necessary to draw on the hook 16 in forward direction by hand or by a garment engaged in the book 16 and rotate the plaque in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 2. A half-turn of the plaque brings its back face in front, to appear as in FIG. 4. Now the weight of a garment hung in the hook l6 maintains the plaque in the changed position, and presents the smiling facial expression seen in the same figure.

When the garment is removed from the book 16 the plaque being top heavy will rotate back to the original position. However, the plaque may be modified to increase this tendency by extending the plaque at the bottom with a frontal rib 17, as shown by means of dotted lines in FIG. 2; and the rim of the rig is convex as indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 3 to project considerably in the center, but taper sidewise to meet the rim of the plaque. Now, when the latter is drawn to the inverted position of FIG. 4, the rib will overhang to the left at the top and aid the self-retum of the plaque to the original position when the book 16 is no longer weighted.

It is now apparent that the main feature of the invention lies in the plaque itself, and that no mechanical parts are carried by or movable relative to the plaque in order to accomplish the change of its facial expression. Thus, merely printing the plaque with facial features which change by the inversion of the plaque will accomplish the desired result. The plaque is therefore constituted to function as described by merely joumaling it freely in the bracket 13 as described. The hanger is thus a very simple article which can be fabricated by mass-production methods at very low cost.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger which displays a frowning face when in not use to hold a garment and a smiling face when in use, comprising a plaque rotatable about an axis and having identical facial features on each side, said features comprising a facial expression which alternately displays a frown and a smile upon rotation of said plaque about said axis, a garment hook mounted on the periphery of said plaque, a support for said rotatable plaque and means on said plaque to engage said rotational axis with said support for rotation.

2. The structure of claim 1, the support having arms at the sides, and trunnions projecting from the sides of the plaque and joumaled in said arms.

3. The structure of claim 1, the support comprising a center plate attachable to a wall, a bracket carried by the center plate with companion arms projected in forward direction, and trunnions projecting from the sides of the plaque and joumaled in said arms.

rotational axis is above the center of gravity of said plaque with said hook mounted thereon, whereby the hook is uppermost when a frowning expression is displayed.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 768 Q74 Dated s t b a 913 InventorGS) ALBERT EJVLALMER I It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

IN THE CLAIMS Add the following claims --6. Garment hanger according to Claim 3 further including weighted means positioned on the periphery of said plaque diametrally with reference to said hook. O ---7. Garment hanger according to Claim 5 further including 7 weighted means positioned on the periphery of said plaque diametrally with reference to said hook.--

Signed and sealed this 30th day of July 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON, JR. C. MARSHALL DANN [Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (IO-69) v WCOMWDC- Y I V i GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE IQ, O3l-3Jl, 

1. A garment hanger which displays a frowning face when in not use to hold a garment and a smiling face when in use, comprising a plaque rotatable about an axis and having identical facial features on each side, said features comprising a facial expression which alternately displays a frown and a smile upon rotation of said plaque about said axis, a garment hook mounted on the periphery of said plaque, a support for said rotatable plaque and means on said plaque to engage said rotational axis with said support for rotation.
 2. The structure of claim 1, the support having arms at the sides, and trunnions projecting from the sides of the plaque and journaled in said arms.
 3. The structure of claim 1, the support comprising a center plate attachable to a wall, a bracket carried by the center plate with companion arms projected in forward direction, and trunnions projecting from the sides of the plaque and journaled in said arms.
 4. Garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein the position of said features on one of said sides is reversed with reference to the posItion of said features on the other of said sides.
 5. Garment hanger according to claim 1 wherein said rotational axis is above the center of gravity of said plaque with said hook mounted thereon, whereby the hook is uppermost when a frowning expression is displayed. 